Warning: This is not a post for the faint hearted. But it is one you should read.

Turning away because it is too difficult to look at is really not an option. Not if you want to part of the solution.

Dogs and cats are being used for live shark bait.

It seems incredible to me that man has such cruelty in him that they would use these animals in such a shameful way.

But they do.

Marion Grant has raised a petition that you can sign to ask that the penalties for these disgraceful acts be changed.

Currently the penalty is only 2 years and a little over $5,000 USD that is far too little for such a heinous crime. We urge that you raise the penalty to 10 years in prison with NO parole and a fine of $100,000. As well as offering a reward of $10,000 for turning in the offenders, which will come from the fines collected.This will hopefully act as a deterrent and will stop these horrendous acts against innocent animals FOREVER. Please do the right thing and help us stop these people.

There are many other great sites to check out but these two are full of useful information and I constantly refer back to them.

Chevvy thinks it is Christmas every day, but the cats are being a little resistant. If you shop around it doesn’t have to be costly. I find myself spending less than before. My hope is also that vet bills will be reduced in the future as the fur babies benefit from their healthier diet.

So glad to hear about Jack feeling better! I can’t bring myself to hit the “like” button on this one, Jo. It’s just entirely too disturbing. Thank you for bringing these things to our attention. I signed the petition, but also wanted to point out that snopes has a page on this, declaring it a “mixture” of true and false. http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/sharkbait.asp Anyway, I hope the petition is for real and that it stops it if it’s still going on. We need a petition for the pet food companies to stop using dangerous “by products” in their ingredients! Thanks for the links, I’m going to try and find a way to start my kiddos on ‘raw’ foods. Even if the pet food companies say they no longer use the euthanized cats and dogs, I don’t believe it. It will probably be more expensive, but that’s one area where I don’t mind spending more money to make sure my babies aren’t being poisoned.

There are sites out there that are actually petitioning for money to *save* these animals. However Marion’s petition does not appear to be one of them. She is not soliciting and the video actually shows that these photos – especially the first one – are for real.

I did check around through various sites that I subscribe to [this actually came from one of them] that are pretty savvy when it comes to scams…and they mentioned the ones that they do consider to be exactly that.

I should mention that I don’t think this (shark baiting with live animals] is quite so prevalent as some reports would have you believe. But for me – one animal is one animal too many. I see animal cruelty ALL the time here in New Zealand and it just sickens me.

I think the theory that animal activists are doing this [this being faking these photos etc] while completely possible, is highly unlikely [though the photo of the black kitten has been clearly proven to be a fake, no one seems to know why anyone would do that]. And the baiting is apparently still occurring according to RSPCA reports.

Agreed. If it stops even one animal from being used this way then it is definitely worth it. I like to believe there is a special place in Hell (or some version of hell) just for sickos like the people who would do that kind of thing. Maybe use THEM for shark bait, over and over and over. Forever.

You know Corina, I would actually be thrilled if this was a hoax. Though that disturbs me as well because in the video it is clear that the one pup has a hook through his nose as does one through his paws. So if it were a hoax…what kind of sicko bastard would put animals through that just to fool people? What people do to animals is so often sickening. And still they trust us. It makes me want to weep. Have you heard of The Patrick Miracle. ? And New Zealand is not immune to such terrible cruelty either. Bright Eyes was a similar case. Every day there are stories that make me ashamed to be part of the human species. Yet every day there are also stories that make me hope. Stories like John Unger and Shep.

I had seen the piece about John Unger and Shep but not the other two. I so agree about both sides. It’s my hope that there are a lot more who care than those who don’t. At least we can both be part of the ones who speak up for those who have no voices. It can be draining to the emotions and soul when you see so much cruelty, but we must be tireless crusaders. The story about Patrick was really eye opening to me about the AHS and their true ‘motivations’. I will be sure to let others know about it.

That shocked me as well. That an organization such as the Humane Society would be so petty and waste so much money on courts cases. That so little of their funding actually goes to animal welfare is scandalous, but in the case of aid organizations, hardly surprising.

Please check out ‘My Little Dog’ if you are considering changing their diet. In the research I have been doing it has become apparent that it is really important to get the balance right. If the fur babies don’t get the right balance it leads to many problems. That is probably why pet foods are so convenient to use even if not perfect. Chevvy is doing so well on the raw food diet. She is trimmer, her bad breath has disappeared, but it takes time to get the mix right. I worried a lot about it at first [research is a scary thing], because of all the stories of animals dying due to these raw diets. My conclusion is that seems to happen when people don’t look in to it properly and get the mix right. it is a bit of a fiddle, but like when I do my own food preparation I find a nice Pinot Noir helps.

Hi, Jo… First of all, I’m very happy to hear that Jackie is on the mend. Hopefully, she’ll be back to her normal self very soon and you won’t have to worry anymore.
Secondly, thanks for the link … I appreciate it and am glad you find the information I’ve gathered useful. I’m not a guru on the matter of dog nutrition and the information and opinions expressed in my posts are based on my personal experience and research, but it’s great to hear others have benefited from them. So, thanks again! :)
Thirdly, what an uncomfortable subject you’ve tackled with this post. I must admit I couldn’t bring myself to watch the video, as I anticipated it would be too disturbing and I’d then have to spend the rest of my day in tears, cuddling George on the sofa … But you’re right, it needs dealing with so things like these don’t ever happen again. Hopefully, petitions still work in this world of ours… I didn’t know they used dead pets to make pet food, this makes me even happier that I’m feeding George a natural, raw diet.

Your site and its section on nutrition are what got me started on this quest to find a better diets for mine. So thank you for that. Especially now I see all of this I am so glad I started looking in to it.

I have read about this before. There was a petition about it on Facebook which I signed. It’s so sad that there are people out there who can be so cruel. It actually beggars belief…And the pets in petfood thing is disgusting :( What a sad world we live in. Thanks for this article.

JO , as i said before, i knew about this many many years ago. Dead animals going into pet food and all the rubbish meat left overs as well.
I never feed my cats pet food, and more over i would never give a dog pet food.

Funny, I didn’t actually SEE any dogs being used as shark bait in the video. Sure, there were a couple of dogs with hooks in them (video taken at what appears to be a veterinary clinic) but those are more easily explained as accidents. I noticed they threw in an underwater shot of a great white shark (no dog in sight) just to complete the mental image, but still the video is completely lacking proof. It’s just playing on people’s emotions. Show me some actual footage of hooked dogs being dragged behind a fishing boat and then I’ll believe you.

I think that you have missed the point of my post. Firstly yes there is no footage of dogs being dragged behind boats. In this you’re correct. However, there doesn’t appear to be any dispute about this practice occurring. National Geographic News originally reported on this story when the Thirty Million Friends Foundation brought it to their attention. While seeing this on someone’s blog or even on some animal rights’ site might cause you to question its validity, I think National Geographic would do their homework before publishing something like this.

The Brigitte Bardot Foundation has also come out against this practice.

As I said in the post it does not appear that this is something that occurs all the time. But the conviction in 2010 [I believe this year date is correct but please show me if not] of someone for this offense would seem to prove that it does happen.

Many animal rights groups have become involved in this over the years. Many of them have longstanding reputations in the community such as those I have already mentioned and for example ‘The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.’

So to conclude this part of my reply…I do believe it occurs. Hence the post.

How often does it occur? Once is too often for me. And that leads to me the point of my posting. Marian’s petition is asking for stiffer penalties in animal cruelty cases. This is something I would like to see all over the world. Many penalties [including those we have in New Zealand] are woefully inadequate in the face of man’s inhumanity towards the other creatures that inhabit this world with us.

He survived and the woman’s case is coming up. It is possible she may get away with a fine and some community service. The petition I signed asked the courts that she go to prison for her offense. I hope she does because people who treat animals in this fashion have little or no respect for the lives of others, animal or human.

You say: “It’s just playing on people’s emotions.”

Of course it is.

Sometimes that is the only way to get people to respond.

I did that in the second part of my post and I freely admit it. I used the photo of barrels of euthanized animals for shock value, to play on people’s emotions. I did it because I wanted desperately for people to click on the links to these articles and read about what actually goes in to pet food.

For months now I have read and researched pet food because I wish to provide the healthiest diet I can for my own fur babies. I have been horrified at some of the things I have learned.

Research is beginning to show that dried pet foods are responsible for many diseases in today’s pet. My post was done in the hope that some may go on to research on their own and once they have all the information they will make an informed decision about what to feed their animals.

But here’s the thing…just saying this is what I do – usually doesn’t do the trick. People are often complacent and change is well – it’s change, and many people [and I include myself in this] don’t like the chaos that change brings.

I would have happily gone on feeding my pets rubbish [unknowingly], were it not for my rather OCD approach to researching things. I once spent two days researching where one word in Australian slang actually came from. It’s a curse I know.

Thank you for your comment Eric. I hope I have answered your concerns about this post and why I wrote it.